Month: December 2017

Bravos de FC Juarez were defeated by Alebrijes de Oaxaca in a penalty kick shootout 4-2 Saturday night at Benito Juarez Olympic Stadium. The victory by Oaxaca gave them their first Ascenso MX League title in franchise history.

The match was one of the most exciting matches to ever take place at the stadium located on the banks of the Rio Grande.

FC Juarez scored in the final minute of stoppage time on a free kick by Raul Enriquez. This goal would send the finals into overtime as regulation ended with the score being 1-0 (1-1 aggregate score).

The Bravos would dominate the overtime session that would lead to a score in the 113th minute by Rodrigo Prieto giving the Bravos 2-1 aggregate lead and seemingly the championship. The euphoria for the sold out crowd at Benito Juarez Olympic stadium would be short lived as less than 3 minutes later Oaxaca would score a goal of their own to send the finals into a penalty kick shootout situation.

The visiting side would make their first PK, Bravos would miss their first. Both teams went on to make their second and third PK’s. Bravos would miss their 4th PK giving Alebrijes their first title.

For those El Pasoans lucky enough to have a ticket for tonight’s FC Juarez-Alebrijes de Oaxaca Ascenso MX Finals match they will have the option to shuttle to and from Benito Juarez Olympic Stadium on Bravo Border Buses.

The shuttles will begin to operate 2 hours prior to the match and run for 2 hours after the match. The 2nd leg of the 2017 Apertura final is scheduled to start at 8pm MST.

The cost for the ride is a one dollar each way. Shuttles will be constantly departing from Ciudad Juarez City Hall Building which will be the pick up and drop off point.

The City Hall Building is located one block east of Avenida Juarez and the Santa Fe Bridge.

Late this morning that the powers that be in Bristol, Connecticut have made a last minute change to their broadcasting lineup for tonight. The final between Bravos de FC Juarez and Alebrijes de Oaxaca for the 2017 Apertura Championship of the Ascenso MX League will be televised across the United States on ESPN Deportes. the sold out match is scheduled to kickoff at 8pm MST.

A one-hour pregame show will be also be the televised, the pregame show will be live from Benito Juarez Olympic Stadium starting at 7pm MST.

Earlier this season an exhibition match against Necaxa was televised live nationally from the Chihuahuas Southwest University Park. That was the first time that the self-proclaimed “Worldwide Leader In Sports” broadcast a Bravos match across the United States. This broadcast from El Paso took place shortly after having acquired the television rights to broadcast the club’s home games across Latin-America for the next 3 years.

With the importance of tonight’s final match, it is a logical move for those in charge in Bristol to showcase the Bravos and the Borderland in what will hopefully be a championship winning effort.

Bravos de FC Juarez performance in the first leg of the Ascenso MX League final was highlighted by the team’s imprecision when it came to ball possession/handling. They struggled to string a series of consecutive passes amongst themselves to move the ball downfield and create any real scoring threats over the course of the first 90 minutes of the 2017 Apertura Acensco MX League Final.

This was the main culprit for the Bravos not being able to at least tie the match in Oaxaca on Wednesday night.

On Friday night the Mexican Soccer Federation held a media night prior to tonight finals match at Benito Juarez Olympic Stadium. The head coaches for both FC Juarez and Alebrijes de Oaxaca were present along with several players for both teams to address the media.

When head coach for FC Juarez, Miguel Fuentes, was asked about the team’s imprecision on Wednesday in the first leg of the finals Fuentes responded, “I believe it was a result of a couple of things. Alebrijes did their job, they tighten up their defensive pressure and reduced the open spaces on the field of play. As for us, I believe we were overly anxious, we wanted to score as quickly as possible (being on the road) and simply made some wrong decisions when we had ball possession, that we are fully aware of. That imprecision was clear, very clear in the first half.”

Fuentes continued, “In the second half the team worked on our mobility and proximity as a result we started to complete passes and establish more ball possession, that lead to a more even match in the second half. In the first half we fell into a rhythm imposed by Alebrijes, who executed their gameplan quite well, that did not benefit us in any way resulting in a first half that went their way.”

The hour has come for Bravos de FC Juarez to overcome a minimal difference of 1-0 against Alebrijes de Oaxaca tonight at Benito Juarez Olympic Stadium in order for the young club to capture its second championship in its 3 years of existence.

It is important to remember that only 7 months ago Bravos found itself in exactly the same situation, at that time it was against Lobos BUAP. Lobos went on to defeat Juarez here in the Borderland to win the championship and go on to win the promotion final.

Despite that heartbreaking defeat, that appearance in the league final last spring gave validity to the young team that they truly are a serious institution that has serious aspiration to be a contender for league promotion.

This 2017 Apertura season the Bravos where constantly in the top positions of the league, finishing 2nd in general table standings heading into the playoffs. The team has overcome all adversity that has come their way, whether it be in the form of injuries or atrocious referee performances not in their favor to be one of the best teams in the league.

All of that will lay in the balance tonight under the bright lights of Benito Juarez Olympic Stadium, in front of a sold out crowd and the ESPN cameras.

Truth be told anything less than winning the Championship tonight would be a disappointment for FC Juarez. The club is made for situations like this, it has the highest payroll in league that allows it to have a roster other teams in the Ascenso MX League only dream about being able to afford.

Because of this, it is easy to see why the team from the Borderland was able to replace 3 key injuries in the final home stretch of the regular season and in the first two round of the playoffs and not skip a beat.

Tonight is important night, with a victory, FC Juarez can establish itself as truly one of the big and important professional sports teams of the Borderland. Regardless if you love soccer or hate it, you won’t be able to deny it.

Bravos de FC Juarez returned to the Borderland on 2 different flight approximately 5 hours apart yesterday afternoon due to logistical flight complications. The Bravos will face Alebrijes de Oaxaca in the 2nd leg of the Ascenso MX Final for the 2017 Apertura Season on Saturday night at Benito Juarez Olympic Stadium. The match is scheduled to kickoff at 8pm.

The team from the Borderland will have to overcome a 1-0 deficit in order to capture their 2nd championship in their young existence, as Alebrijes defeated Bravos by the minimal difference Wednesday night in Oaxaca in the first leg of the final.

Head Coach for FC Juarez, Miguel Fuentes, addressed the media at the Juarez airport shortly after the team landed. Fuentes commented regarding the situation the team finds itself in and their performance in the first leg loss, “It is not impossible to come back from a 1-0 deficit. We were hoping for a better result on the road. But that is how soccer is, we now have 90 minutes here at home to tie and turn this deficit around to win the championship. On Wednesday we had a bad first half, that is the reality of things.”

Fuentes continued, “Despite having a poor performance we only allowed one goal. From there, the match became more even in the second half. Here a home (on Saturday) we are going to have to be more aggressive, more intense and establish ball possession because in the first leg we simply did not have ball possession. On Saturday were are going to have to generate more chances on goal, be more thorough and dynamic to win a match were all of our season’s hard work lays in the balance.”

As for how the team reacted after the first leg match, Fuentes stated, “The guys know what they did well, what they didn’t do and are aware of the challenge that lies ahead. The 1-0 deficit is not impossible to overcome and on Saturday night we will leave it all out on the field in order to win ourselves a championship. ”

The Bravos had their final training session prior to tomorrow big match this morning at 11am. The training session was held behind closed doors with no media or public access.